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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24906109">Stupid Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SKayLanphear/pseuds/SKayLanphear'>SKayLanphear</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Compilation of Final Fantasy VII</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Clack, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Zack is a puppy and Cloud is dumb, cute boys being silly, zakkura</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:15:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,675</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24906109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SKayLanphear/pseuds/SKayLanphear</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud is in love with his best friend, a secret he intends to take to the grave. As far as he's concerned, there's no way Zack could ever feel the same. And any sort of love confession from Zack's side? Well, that was definitely platonic. And that "date" Zack mentioned? Totally them just hanging out as usual. And the kiss on Cloud's cheek? Well... maybe that was a little weird...</p><p>A story in which Zack is a puppy and Cloud is pretty dumb.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zack Fair/Cloud Strife</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>496</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stupid Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story is inspired by/based on a comic by LStrikesArt over on twitter!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cloud had done a lot of stupid things over the course of his relatively short life, but falling in love with his best friend was by far the stupidest.</p><p>If he was being totally frank, he was lucky Zack Fair was friends with him at all. The gap between them on the Shinra totem pole was so vast that when people saw them hanging out in-uniform together, they'd oftentimes falter to stare. Because it was nearly unheard of to see a First Class SOLDIER—swathed in their intimidating black uniform—eating lunch or bumming around with a run-of-the-mill infantryman.</p><p>But ever since their first mission, Cloud and Zack had been stuck together like glue. Well, more like Zack was the glue and Cloud was getting stuck. Sure, they'd gotten along well enough after meeting, but though Zack had talked about them hanging out afterward, Cloud hadn't actually figured it would happen.</p><p>But then Zack had been texting him, inviting him for lunch, to hang out after their shifts, to train together (despite the fact that Cloud wasn't much of a partner for someone as skilled as Zack). Four months later and they were together during nearly every free minute either of them had. Not only that, but Zack had even arranged for Cloud to be assigned to most missions he was given where infantry was an accessory.</p><p>The attention from someone as impressive and high up as Zack had been intimidating—and awe-inspiring—at first, but Cloud was almost proud to say that he'd grown pretty used to it by that point.</p><p>What he couldn't get used to, however, were the treacherous <em>feelings</em> that had begun to develop, well, probably since the first day they'd met. Cloud hadn't even realized it was happening at first, having been so enamored by Zack anyway. And by the time he'd finally noticed, it'd been long too late.</p><p>He was lucky to have a friend like Zack at all, which meant that entertaining a chance with him as anything more was wholly out of the question. Sure, Cloud's love for Zack was getting to the point of late that it was nearly bursting out of him, but he was determined never to say a thing about it. Absolutely under no circumstances would he jeopardize the best friendship he'd ever had. One of the only friendships, really.</p><p>Which meant he'd take the secret of his affections to the grave.</p><p>Thankfully, Zack wasn't exactly the most… observant person, at least not when it came to anything outside of work. Which meant that though Cloud wasn't always the best at hiding how he felt, Zack never noticed. He just chalked up any sort of weird interactions to Cloud's overt social inadequacies. Which was both good and kind of insulting (not that he could blame Zack—he was right about Cloud's lack of social graces).</p><p>Still, it was better than Zack ever finding out the truth, Cloud happy to deal with the one-sided pain so long as it meant he could stay by Zack's side.</p><p>"Man, I'm so bored," Zack was saying, Cloud watching him go up and down, up and down as he tried to squat his way to something more exciting than their lunch break. Cloud, by contrast, was quite content to sit on the bench surrounding one of the large, leafy plants decorating the cafeteria, as his job amounted to little more than standing at attention whenever he wasn't out on a mission.</p><p>"You keep doing that and you're going to make yourself sick again," Cloud pointed out, before taking a bite out of his sandwich.</p><p>Casting him a sour look, Zack faltered in his squats before releasing a defeated sigh and plopping back down beside him. He'd already eaten his own lunch—basically inhaled it, as usual—which was why his squats had been a bad idea. His food needed time to digest, even with his extraordinary SOLDIER body.</p><p>"I don't think I can take another four hours of meetings after this," Zack whined, leaning closer so his head was laying on Cloud's shoulder. "We're not even allowed to walk around—we have to stay sitting the <em>whole time</em>."</p><p>"Tragic," Cloud said flatly. "Can't imagine what that's like."</p><p>"I'd rather be standing all day than sitting, okay?"</p><p>Cloud still wasn't amused, deciding to cast Zack a bit of side-eye as he finished his sandwich.</p><p>"Good! You're done!" Not that Zack noticed, as he was bounding back to his feet within the second. "Let's go walk around or something. We've got a little time left."</p><p>"A little," Cloud agreed, getting to his feet with far less gusto than Zack was prone to doing. Dumping the trash from his lunch in the nearest bin, they were soon walking side by side out into one of the main lobbies, Cloud able to feel the excess energy sparking off of Zack's twitchy body.</p><p>"What is your problem?" he asked, reaching out and shoving Zack's good-naturedly, before sparing the taller boy a small smile.</p><p>"I'm just really anxious, okay?" Zack rebuked, beginning to swing his arms around, before he stopped to do another round of squats. "You know how I get when I'm cooped up for too long."</p><p>"Sure." Cloud nodded in agreement, his hands going to his hips as he once again watched Zack go up and down. "But you're not usually this uptight when you have those monthly SOLDIER meetings."</p><p>Zack growled, finishing off his last squat before stretching his arms toward the ceiling and taking in an exaggerated breath. When he finally returned his attention to Cloud, he was frowning, which was <em>definitely</em> not normal.</p><p>"Zack…" Cloud's own face pulled into a frown to mirror Zack's own. "What's wrong?"</p><p>Humming in discomfort, Zack paced in a short circle before yet again returning his attention to Cloud.</p><p>"Zack?"</p><p>"So I've been thinking," he started after another few seconds. "About, like, you and me."</p><p>A claim that startled Cloud more than anything else, because that didn't sound… good?</p><p>"We spend, like, all our time together. Like, every day. And then there's missions, and lunch breaks, and, like, well, you know, you've been there."</p><p>"Uh huh…" Dread dropped down through Cloud's system. Where was this going?</p><p>"And, well, the thing is…" Zack huffed and bit the inside of his cheek, before doing yet another squat for good measure. "What I want to say is that—that…" Sighing, he did <em>another</em> squat, only this time he didn't come back up. Didn't look up, even.</p><p>"Zack…What's going on?"</p><p>"It's… No, I shouldn't… But… Never mind, I guess." He was still staring at the floor, though his shoulders visibly slumped.</p><p>"Um… okay…" Truth be told, Cloud didn't want to investigate any further, as he was already paranoid about whatever Zack wanted—or didn't want—to say. Which resulted in their conversation going stale, rare silence erupting between them as Zack continued to sigh at the floor and Cloud remained stubbornly un-interested.</p><p>Until Zack growled to himself again and abruptly stood. Running his hand through his hair, he looked like maybe he was thinking altogether too hard, an expression that Cloud usually only saw on his face when a mission wasn't going quite how it'd been planned.</p><p>Still, he wasn't wholly comfortable with where this conversation had gone, so he looked away, refusing to inquire again. He didn't know why Zack was bringing up their friendship and the time they spent together, but it sounded almost like he wanted address such things for some reason, and Cloud, well, he didn't want anything to change.</p><p>He was content with their friendship the way it was, even if it did torture him day in and day out.</p><p>"Hey, Cloud," Zack said suddenly, sounding oddly quiet. Which did pull Cloud's stare his way again, if only due to concern. "We're… We're best friends, right?"</p><p>Doing his best to hide his stress, Cloud offered Zack a silent nod.</p><p>"Which means that—that we can tell each other anything."</p><p>"Yeah, of course…" Cloud replied slowly.</p><p>"Then I think… I think you need to know something," he continued, sounding almost… nervous. Why would he be nervous?</p><p>What was going on?</p><p>"I need you to know that—that I…" He cringed shortly, before a determined little grunt cleared his throat. "I need you to know… that I love you."</p><p>Blinking, Cloud stared up at him, the words slowly sinking into his brain, seemingly one letter at a time. Until his mind was repeating the words back to him. "<em>I love you, I love you, I love you.</em>" And for just a second, Cloud thought maybe he was in some sort of romantic comedy, or maybe even a dream, where all his wildest reveries were coming true.</p><p>But just as quickly as this fantasy materialized before him, reality was drop kicking him back into place.</p><p>Zack…</p><p>Zack was silly. And personable with everyone. And touchy feely. And wore his emotions on his sleeve at all times. There was a reason he had a reputation for being a "puppy" amongst all the other First Class SOLDIERS. There was a reason it'd taken Cloud almost an entire month to get used to him hanging all over him constantly. That was just the sort of person he was—energized, positive, and always looking out for everyone around him.</p><p>He wasn't saying that he was <em>in</em> love with Cloud, he was just telling him that he loved him. Platonically. Which, even for Zack, wasn't a normal expression of affection. But given his knack for honesty and openness, it wasn't that farfetched to assume that this over-exaggerated illustration of his feelings was just his way of telling Cloud how much he was valued.</p><p>Zack was the type that was friends with everyone, so that meant he'd have to go even further to express any sort of significant feelings toward anyone else. Which was… nice, even if it wasn't exactly what Cloud wanted.</p><p>He was only saying he loved Cloud as a friend, plain and simple.</p><p>This made it easier to reciprocate his sentiments. "I… feel the same way," Cloud said simply.</p><p>Eyes going wide, Zack's mouth fell open. "Really?!" he said, his voice loud enough to cause Cloud to jump in place. "Are—Are you serious? You mean you…?"</p><p>"Y—Yeah?" Cloud said, once again finding himself somewhat bewildered. Not that such was new around Zack, really, who was capable of throwing him for a loop at almost any given time. "Is it really that hard to believe?"</p><p>"I can't—I'm just—" Zack's hands went to his hair, while a broad grin eventually broke out across his face. "Wow," he continued, Cloud even more shocked at the thin string of tears that were suddenly lining his mako-blue eyes.</p><p>He reached out then, his movements so fast and so unexpected that Cloud could do little more than squeak and brace himself against Zack's shoulders as he was hefted into the air. Zack held him firmly around the waist, literally lifting him off the ground as he pulled him into an embrace. He was still smiling, and still sort of crying, while Cloud was so flustered by the abrupt contact that he could do little more than blush and panic.</p><p>"Zack, what are you—"</p><p>"I'm just so relieved!" Zack said, his voice so sentimentally mushy that Cloud felt another wave of heat wash over his face. The pressure of Zack's hold around him had his arms slipping from Zack's shoulders around his neck, their noses nearly brushing as Cloud stared down at that smiling face, still entirely bemused by what was happening.</p><p>"You're so weird," he ended up muttering, even as Zack laughed.</p><p>"I'm just shocked is all," he countered. "You said it so easily!"</p><p>Cloud pouted. "You said it first…"</p><p>Laughing yet again, Zack spun once in place before finally, <em>finally</em>, letting Cloud slide back down to the ground. And even though Cloud tried to pull back, he found that Zack was still holding him firmly in place, their bodies flush together as they watched one another.</p><p>"You have no idea how relieved I am," Zack said, his voice softer now. His whole expression was softer, in fact, and a little bit pink. Which was still probably a lot subtler than the blush continuing to assault Cloud's own face. "I thought for sure you wouldn't say it back."</p><p>Cloud finally managed a small smile. "You are <em>so</em> weird, Zack."</p><p>"But that's why you love me, huh?" he said, waggling his eyebrows a bit as he did.</p><p>Cloud curled his nose despite his continued smile. "Y—Yeah, I guess so."</p><p>And while Zack did retain that… insufferably tender look in his eyes for some seconds longer, his own unending energy did eventually have him spiking to attention, his whole body going rigid in the same way a puppy's might when they were presented with a treat or the opportunity to play.</p><p>Standing back just a bit, he moved his hands to Cloud's shoulders as he stared excitedly down at him. "Do you wanna go out tomorrow?" He was practically buzzing in place.</p><p>"I should be free, sure," Cloud volunteered, honestly still trying to recover from the whiplash of their entire exchange.</p><p>"Great!" Zack replied, continuing to shiver with energy even as he looked up at a nearby clock. Which didn't have any sort of good news for him, as he had only a few minutes left before he had to be back in his meetings, while Cloud had to return to his post.</p><p>Even so, he was still smiling as he finally dropped his hold on Cloud, loitering for just a second in place before reaching out to ruffle Cloud's hair. Or so Cloud had expected, as that was a pretty normal thing for him to do. So when he instead gently pushed a few strands of hair out of Cloud's face, he was struck speechless and staring, again victim to the heat of a blush across his cheeks.</p><p>"Then it's a date," Zack decided, before he was finally backing away. Turning on his heel, he called back to Cloud over his shoulder as he jogged off. "Meet you by the fountain at six!"</p><p>Faltering, Cloud fumbled stupidly for words before finally replying with a simple, "Okay." Which was apparently enough to keep Zack watching him with a dopey smile, to the point that he nearly tripped over a trash can sitting beside the nearby stairs. Barely hitting it, he reached out to stop it from tipping over as a result of his side-swiping collision, before he flung his body around to look at Cloud again.</p><p>"Wear something nice!" he called out lastly, winking and finally turning away. He was practically skipping down the stairs, soon out of sight.</p><p>Cloud had been waving the entire time, uncertain how else to respond and instinctively needing to do something with his hands. But the moment Zack was gone, his whole countenance wavered. Smile fading, his hand moved to his chest, where he gripped tightly at his uniform.</p><p>He could feel it all over his body, the way his heart was pounding. The sensation was so severe it left him nauseated and a bit weak in the knees. <em>Calm down</em>, he told himself. There was no reason to be reacting like a lovesick teenager, even if he <em>was</em> a lovesick teenager. Nothing Zack had said or done was at all intended to be romantic, which meant he needed to get his stupid feelings under control.</p><p>It was just Zack being Zack. Nothing between them was different. If anything, this whole situation solidified the differences in how they felt toward one another. Zack loved him, while Cloud was <em>in</em> love, and that disparity was as stark as night and day.</p><p><em>We're hanging out as usual</em> <em>tomorrow</em>, Cloud told himself, trying to push back on the dejection that was beginning to trickle in. <em>At the end of the day, I'm lucky he even considers me a friend.</em></p><p>The love of friendship, well, it'd have to be enough.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Cloud, what are you doing? What are you thinking? Why are you like this? For fucks sake, they're both such himbos. </p><p>Like I said at the beginning, this story was inspired by/based on a comic LStrikesArt over on twitter. </p><p>And feel free to follow me on twitter--SKayLanphear--where I write stuff and cry about clack.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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